An epidemic of obesity and diabetes has swept the nation, thanks to reckless eating and a lack of exercise. But getting healthier is as easy as eating low-carb foods, says Judy Barnes Baker, author of Carb Wars: Sugar Is the New Fat. She shares 7 delicious low-carb recipes...

Life handed Judy Barnes Baker a lemon, and she made low-sugar lemon coconut pie. Then she wrote a cookbook.

Nine years ago, when her ailing husband needed to lose weight and lower his blood pressure and cholesterol, the grandmother of three switched her family to a low-carbohydrate diet. Her hubby got better and they both shed unwanted pounds.

But Baker went one step further. The self-trained cook compiled her recipes in a book, Carb Wars: Sugar Is the New Fat (Duck In a Boat).

Our bodies don’t need as many carbs as we normally consume, Baker says. Some carb-heavy foods have nutrients attached, “but it’s the nutrients we need, not the carbs, and we can get them from other foods.”

Still not sold on a low-carb diet? Research shows it can help you lose weight and improve blood glucose control for people with diabetes.

The good news? Low-carb is trendy again and products are everywhere. But they’re often disguised as high fiber, high protein, low glycemic or low calorie, she says. New sugar replacements – including erythritol, xylitol and stevia – are gaining popularity too.

It’s easy to incorporate low-carb products into your cooking. For baking, Baker recommends subbing in high-fiber, low-carb cornstarch for some of the wheat flour in a recipe (She likes King Arthur Flour’s Hi-Maize 5-in-1 Fiber.)

If you can’t give up starchy carbs, switch to low-carb pasta and breads, which are now widely available in grocery stores. (Baker recommends Dreamfields pasta.) And wash down a bowl of cereal with low-carb milk.

Give low-carb cooking a try with these 7 scrumptious recipes from Baker’s book:

Preparation1. Combine the marinade ingredients in a shallow dish and add the steak. Let stand for 10 to 15 minutes, turning once. Drain and blot dry.

2. Meanwhile, cut the onion and pepper into narrow strips. Sauté them in the butter and olive oil until tender.

3. Grill or broil the steak on high heat for 1 minute per side for rare; 1-1/2 minutes per side for medium rare. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes, and then slice across the grain into thick slices. Place meat on a hot platter with the onions and peppers and squeeze the limes over top. Sprinkle with salt.

Preparation1. Cut artichoke stems to about one inch in length. Remove and discard small lower leaves; cut off top one-third of each artichoke. Use kitchen shears to trim tips of leaves to remove thorns. Cut artichokes in half. Rub cut surfaces with lemon slice or drop in a bowl of water with lemon juice added.

2. Put an inch or two of water in a steamer or large pot with a rack and bring to a simmer. Place artichoke halves on rack; cover pot with a lid. Steam for 25 minutes or until tender and leaves pull out easily. Remove, drain, and let cool.

3. Use a paring knife or spoon to scrape out the choke (the furry white fibers in the center). Remove the small purple leaves above the choke, being careful of the thorns on the tips.

4. Meanwhile, remove the papery outer layer from a bulb of garlic, leaving cloves intact. Cut off 1/2 inch from the top of the bulb. Rub generously with olive oil and wrap in foil. Bake at 400 degrees for 35 minutes or until very soft. Let cool.

5. Squeeze garlic cloves out of skins. Mash into melted butter with a fork. (Use extra garlic for another purpose.) Add parsley, salt, and pepper. Baste artichokes halves with garlic butter, spooning down between leaves.

6. Grill artichokes, cut side down, or place under broiler, cut side up, until brown, 4 minutes. Turn and baste with garlic butter. Grill until outer leaves are charred. Sprinkle with coarse salt. To eat, pull off leaves and scrape off the fleshy lower part of each leaf between teeth.

Preparation1. Peel and cube the rutabaga and cook with the walnuts and lemon by directions for Basic Rutabaga Faux Potatoes. Rinse and drain well.

2. Sauté the garlic in olive oil until slightly softened.

3. Cream together in a large bowl: the sautéed garlic, half of the smoked cheese, the butter, cream cheese and Tabasco. Stir in the cream and the salt and pepper. Add the rutabaga and stir until it is evenly coated.

4. Place in a greased casserole and top with the remaining smoked cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes until well browned.

*Double this recipe for dipping large berries.Preparation1. Line a heavy sheet pan with waxed paper or foil and put in the refrigerator to chill. Wash and dry berries and put in the refrigerator. They should be very cold and very dry when you are ready to dip them.

2. Chop the chocolate. The finer it is, the more easily it will melt. (Shave it from the edge of a chunk in thin shards with a chef’s knife. Grate it with a microplane grater or use a food processor or coffee grinder). Be careful that it doesn’t overheat.

3. Measure the Splenda and pulverize it in a food processor or place a small amount at a time between layers of parchment paper and crush with a rolling pin. It should be as fine as powdered sugar. (Splenda won’t dissolve in chocolate so it must be crushed or the chocolate will be grainy.)

4. Heat 1/2 inch of water to boiling in the bottom pan of a double boiler. Turn down the heat so it is hot but not bubbling. (A bowl that fits tightly over a pan can be used as a double boiler.) Be very careful not to get any water into the chocolate or it may separate or become hard and grainy. Even a little steam can ruin it.

5. Place one teaspoon of coconut oil or shortening in the top pan of the double boiler (optional, but it helps keep the mixture smooth and shiny). Stir chocolate and Splenda together and add to the pan. Set over the hot water, but don't let it touch the mix. Stir the chocolate continuously with a spatula as it melts.

6. Hold a berry by the stem or the cap or spear with a fork in the top where a stem would be if it had one. Dip the bottom 1/2-2/3 of each berry into the chocolate. Swirl it around then hold it upside down briefly so the chocolate will flow down for even coverage. Set on the cold pan.

7. Place pan with berries in the fridge to chill for at least 15 minutes. Store, loosely covered, for a few days. Don’t cover tightly or moisture will condense and drip onto berries. (DO cover other things in the fridge so the berries don’t pick up any off flavors.)

Note: Chocolate melts at body temperature. A small amount of melted chocolate that sits on the hot pan for too long can ruin the whole batch. So be patient; don’t turn up the heat, and stir thoroughly and constantly.

The chocolate mixture can also be melted in a microwave set on low. Heat for 30 seconds at a time then, stir and repeat until it melts. Chocolate will hold its shape so you have to stir it to tell if it’s all melted. As soon as it’s melted, remove both pans from the heat. Leave the chocolate over the hot water while dipping.

Preparation1. Remove the tough, white, fibrous membrane from the back of the rack. (Hold it with a paper towel and pull it away.) If you're using spareribs, cut off the breast bone, the skirt and the small bones that form the hump of the rack, leaving just the parallel rib bones. The pieces that are trimmed away can be roasted along with the ribs.

2. Cut the racks into two-rib portions. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and rub with olive oil. Place in a roasting pan, concave side up; cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil and bake at 325 degrees for 2 hours. Remove the foil.

3. Drain off the pan drippings. Brush the ribs with sugar-free barbecue sauce, spray with no-stick spray, and continue to bake, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Turn the ribs and baste the other side with sauce. (Convex side should be up now.) Spray the ribs with no-stick spray and continue to bake for an additional 15 minutes. Spray once more with no-stick spray and serve hot. (2/3 cup of sauce should be enough for 4 pounds of ribs.)

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